Who We Are

Project CHANGE Montgomery

AmeriCorps Project CHANGE is Montgomery County Maryland’s original AmeriCorps program began back in 2001 through a partnership with the then MCPS Superintendent, Dr. Jerry Weast, while he was participating on Leadership Montgomery, and the Montgomery Business Round Table for Education headed by Dr. Bob Anastasi. In its first dozen years, Project CHANGE under the leadership of founding director, Judy Lapping, hosted a diverse portfolio, with members serving the community through many different local non-profits and focused on a variety of needs, from kids to college grads to veterans.

The mission that has emerged in the last dozen years under the leadership of Paul Costello and in partnership with the George B Thomas Snr. Learning Academy, (GBTLA-Saturday School) has been a focus on serving the 160,000 MCPS students in Social Emotional Learning, and training members, no matter where they happen to be placed, to address and meet the post COVID fallout in student confidence and hope.

While the school system focuses on improving academic performance, the learning loss that most undermines academic sucess is the student’s own lack of a positive sense of themselves and their capabilites. Too many students are locked inside an old story, seeing themselves as “less than,” as stressed out, as struggling, failing, and never measuring up to the standards that their parents, peers or the pressurized curriculum demand.

Project CHANGE through its unique MyScore 5-Cs narrative approach to Social Emotional Wellness, seeks to place members in schools and leading after-school programs to help identify and support those students who are struggling most, and mentor them to a more positive and productive sense of themselves. Project CHANGE trains its members in this new SEL approach, to become the specialist audience to the student’s new story of possibility.

While the mainstream treats SEL as something that can be taught, Project CHANGE believes that Social Emotional Wellness is also something that students also intuitively grow into, on their path to maturity. Therefore, the more they discover about their identity and their emotions, the better chance they have of becoming Successful Life Learners.

What ultimately matters in school is the lessons for life that the student leaves with, and how well they adapt to the curriculum that experience itself presents. “Who they are” is the subject that they are the world’s leading experts in, and through MyScore, Project CHANGE wants to develop, support and honor their inbuilt capacity and ever emerging competency to become the person they most want to be. It echoes what our partner GBTLA aims to teach every student, “I believe in Me.”

AmeriCorps

Often called America’s “Domestic Peace Corps,” AmeriCorps was founded in 1993. Federal funds are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and come to us through our Governor’s Office of Service and Volunteerism. (GOSV) AmeriCorps members serve one-year assignments working for nonprofit organizations and receive a living stipend, health insurance, an education scholarship, training, and a life-changing experience.

Last year, AmeriCorps provided more than 1,700 individuals the opportunity to provide intensive, results-driven service to meet education, environmental, health, economic, and other pressing needs in communities across Maryland. Most AmeriCorps grant funding goes to the Maryland Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, which in turn awards grants to non-profit groups to respond to local needs. Most of the remainder of the grant funding is distributed by CNCS directly to multi-state and national organizations through a competitive grants process. Other individuals serve through AmeriCorps VISTA, whose members help bring individuals and communities out of poverty by serving full-time to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, and increase housing opportunities, and AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), a 10-month, full time residential program for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24. In exchange for their service, AmeriCorps members earn an education award that can be used to pay for college or to pay back qualified student loans. Since 1994, more than 22,000 Maryland residents have served more than 30 million hours and have qualified for Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards totaling more than $67,480,000

What We Do

Each year, AmeriCorps offers a broad range of opportunities for approximately 75,000 adults of all ages and backgrounds. AmeriCorps members serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups. Some opportunities include:

Tutoring and mentoring disadvantaged youth
Building Social and Emotional Learning skills for life success
Facilitating school group dialogues on race and ethnicity
Conducting after-school enrichment programs for students K-12

Who Can Serve

AmeriCorps allows anyone that has the desire to serve, to serve, whether they be young or old, experienced or learners. Everyone can serve.

Our Impact

Project CHANGE Montgomery has been operating for 18 years and every year we have had 15 members serving 1700 each. In 19 years of its existence, Project CHANGE has provided over 500,000 hours of Volunteer service to the neediest members of the county.